Winters Puppy
by Spoilerwolf
Summary: Tag to Skag Trendy's 'Hunter of the Shadows'. Sam's got a lot of growing to do and Dean and Tobius will be with him every step of the way. Winter is, afterall, a great time to have some fun and learn a little something too.


A/N: This is the first time I've done an attachment or tag to someone else's work - and I'm nervous but excited at the same time. Without Skag Trendy's wonderful and brilliantly written story, _Hunter of the Shadows_(or soon to be series, SO excited about that!) this story would not have been possible. All credit for the initial idea of Sam and Dean go to EK - the were!brothers and Tobius Le Salle go to ST. I'm just playing in their sandboxes for a little while.

A/N #2: Sickly sweet and hopefully melt-your-heart adorable. You've been warned. A small set of three short glimpses into the lives of the were!chesters and Tobius' lives during the period just after Sam's first transformation. (It looks like four stories, but the last two are together). Let's hear it for puppy!power!!

A/N #3: This takes place between chapters 11 and 13 of _Hunter of the Shadows_ and before _Let the red mist descend. _

A/N #4: If there are any glaringly obvious errors, contact me through pm's and I'll try to fix it. No flames guys.

* * *

Tobius led the small tight knit family through the thick brush, his head turned periodically to look behind him.

His son and grandson were bringing up the rear, the youngest clumsily trying to navigate the four inch high snow, slipping and sliding all over the place. His _fatherbrother _walked tirelessly behind him, watching him closely.

_Come on Sam, shake a leg and move it! _

The little pup growled, small baby teeth glinting in the dim light as he stared up at Dean. _You can talk to me when you're the same height as the snow you're trying to walk over!_

Dean nudged Sam's side with his nose, encouraging the youngest to keep going. _Keep going, Sammy. Just one paw in front of the other. _

Tobius could hear the amusement in his son's voice.

_Eat me._ Came the petulant reply, Sam waggling his little tail feverishly back and forth as he continued forward, scrambling through the snow as he valiantly tried to keep up with his grandfather.

Snow had come early this year, hitting them in late October. Tobius had been worried that they wouldn't make it to the cabin before the first flakes of snow hit, and he'd cut it close. There were only a few inches of snow on the ground, but the ancient werewolf could smell the change in the wind, feel it in his bones – the snow was going to fall heavily within the next few days – of that he was sure.

They hadn't been on the trail more than an hour, but glancing back at his grandson's determined face, Tobius could tell by the furrowed brows and pinched face - Sam was getting tired. His wounds had mostly healed, but Sam's recovery would be a long one nonetheless – exhaustion would continue to plague him for many more weeks as his body sought equilibrium.

Tobius was proud of the pup for having endured the physical aspects of their journey as long as he had and it certainly brought a smile to the eldest werewolf as he stood and waited for his family to join him.

One icy spot near the top had the youngster slipping, his tiny muzzle hitting the ice as his left paw lost footing and Sam found himself toppling tail over snout as momentum carried him down the hill.

That is, until Dean lowered his head toward the ground and stopped his _brotherson _from falling any further, feeling the pads of his son's back feet hitting his forehead. _Think we got to work on the whole 'walking' thing again, Sammy. _Dean replied softly, slowly lifting his head, making sure Sam slipped no further before gently picking the young pup up by the scruff of his neck with his teeth, strong paws eating the distance up between the three of them.

Sam's tired eyes peaked out between wisps of reddish fur as Dean finally brought them to the top of the hill. The young werewolf was still gently carried by his father as they continued on, following behind their patriarch, who smiled at them in a way that was pure Tobius, and carried on into the woods.

* * *

It was the most rudimentary of skills that they thought they'd teach Sam and one that had been a favourite game between the boys at a much younger age.

Hide and seek.

_No peeking Dean! _Sam called over his shoulder as he trampled through the underbrush, looking for a good place to hide, his stubby little tail waggling behind him.

Sam had the advantage of being smaller in size. After having had a talk with Tobius, Sam had decided the best course of action was to hide in an area where his scent couldn't be narrowed down to one place.

That was something else his _father/brother_and grandfather were teaching him – how to track different scents. He was learning to differentiate the unique smells of various kinds of plant life – the sweet, earthy smell that flourished in the area. Even between Dean and Tobius, their scents were different – Dean smelled of gun oil, leather and the faintest scent of whiskey. Tobius, on the other hand, smelled of fine wine and the rich scent of pine.

Sam? He had no idea what he smelled like. Oh, he could tell where his tracks were, but he really couldn't pick up any scent other than the faintest smell of his shampoo – coconut.

Which Dean teased him mercilessly about.

Dean sighed. _Hurry up Sammy! I'm not getting any younger!_

_Yeah yeah! I'm going!_

Sam trotted along the narrow trail that his family used to get up into the mountains on a regular basis, hoping that might mask his scent and confuse Dean.

_Yeah right._ Sam thought to himself, careful to not project that thought to his family by accident.

Reaching the small snow covered field, Sam spotted an old gnarled tree and carefully walked over, clamouring over snow that at times was up to his neck.

Being small also had its disadvantages.

Sniffing the tree and walking around it twice, he decided to try and squeeze into a small hole at the base of the tree. _He won't find me here._

_Sam! _Please_ tell me you've finally found a place. I'm going to find you anyways, so it's not like it makes a difference where you hide._

_Like hell it doesn't! _Sam stuck his head inside the hole, little red furry feet pushing against the snow and ground, wiggling his little body into the base of the tree. _Yeah! I'm ready!_

Only that… he wasn't. His hips were stuck against either side of the hole, and no matter how much Sam pulled; he couldn't get the other half of himself in.

He was stuck. How _humiliating_.

He could hear Dean coming up the trail in a slow gait, no doubt his nose to the ground and eyes on the trail ahead of him. He was going to find Sam unless he got his furry little ass inside this freaking tree.

He renewed on his attempts to pull himself into the hole, his tail waggling, trying somehow to propel himself into his hiding spot, but he only succeeded in getting himself even more wedged into place.

This sucked of epic proportions.

A few minutes later Sam felt a tap of a sharp claw at the base of his spine.

_You suck at hiding Sam. _There was a hint of adoration in his tone. _Come on, Tobius will have dinner ready for us by the time we get back._

Sam closed his eyes, head hanging. _I can't_.

He could hear Dean's foot moving, the snow crunching under his paw. _Excuse me?_

Sam _really_ hated this. _I'm stuck._

There was a long pause before Sam heard the snuffling, snorting sound of his _fatherbrother's_ laughter – hell, Sam could feel the ever so faint vibrations through the ground.

_This isn't funny! _Sam yelled indignantly, hearing the high pitch of Dean's laughter turn to howls behind him.

He knew he must look the sight – his feet stretched out behind him, the pads of his feet brushing against snow as he continued to weakly struggle, his tail now lying passively between his legs, feeling embarrassed and humiliated.

"Hold on, I'll get you out." Dean said quietly, having made the change to human form so fast Sam hadn't had a chance to notice. He felt Dean's warm fingers brush his side as he gripped the out-most side of a tree root and pulled, the root breaking off and leaving Sam free.

Dean changed back just as fast, black fur dancing as he shivered from head to tail. _You ready to go back? _He asked as Sam pulled himself out of the base of the tree and stood next to his Sire.

_Yeah. _Sam trotted ahead, a mischievous glint to his eyes. _I'll race you back! _He yelled, slipping and sliding on a patch of ice before taking off down the hill, Dean not far behind him, crying foul as he caught up to his _brotherson_ and enjoyed the run back home.

* * *

The blizzard outside raged, flakes of snow hitting the windows and bouncing off, joining millions of others that lay scattered on the ground.

Tobius let the drape fall back into place and moved towards the kitchen where his son and grandson were busy cleaning the dishes.

"Quit splashing water on me, midget!" Dean complained, wiping soup bubbles off one cheek.

Tobius caught the mischievous grin on his grandson's face. "It's not like you couldn't use a bit of soap yourself Dean," Sam's nose wrinkled as he continued. "you stink!"

Dean took a quick whiff of his shirt and shrugged. "I smell nothing but sexy." Even at Sam's eye roll, Dean grinned delightedly. "I should bottle this smell, you know? Chicks would _kill _to have it."

Sam snorted, absently scrubbing another dish with a wet cloth before rinsing it under the hot water. "Yeah of course they would – because it would _kill _anything it touched!"

Tobius snorted at Dean's exasperated look.

"Nobody takes me seriously around here." Dean muttered under his breath, picking up a spatula and drying it with a pale dish towel that had seen perhaps one too many dishes.

When the boys finished with the dishes, Tobius suggested they go for a quick walk around the perimeter outside of the cabin and stretch their legs.

Well, their wolf ones anyways.

The boys only got about halfway around the building before they started goofing off – Sam trying to tackle his _fatherbrother_ into a mountain of snow, while Dean nudged Sam over into the snow, tail over teakettle. Sam would poke his head out of the snow with all that white powder stuck to his face, red fur trying desperately to peek out between the all encompassing snow that clung to him like a second skin.

_Deeeeeean! _Sam whined, shaking his entire body to get the snow off his fur.

_Saaaaaam! _Dean whined back, a wolfish grin in place as he nudged the young pup backwards again into the snow and took off running, wolfish howls echoing in the wooded area as Sam scampered after him, little puppy barks of protest and of enjoyment as he chased his sire around.

Tobius found a nice patch of flattened snow to lie down on and watched his little family enjoy themselves in the late evening of early November snow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tobius sat comfortably in the arm chair near the fireplace, reading another of his favourite Charles Dickens books while sampling a taste of red wine in a fine crystal glass. The fire had been stoked only a few minutes ago, and the crackle and snap of fire burning wood was soothing to the ears as the werewolf's eyes danced across the page, engrossed by Dickens' story.

Until a snuffle and a long sigh pulled him away from his book.

Glancing over top of the worn pages, Tobius smiled warmly at the two sprawled figures on the carpet in front of the fire place.

Dean lay on his side, his legs stretched out at different angles and mouth partially open, soft snores issuing from the large black wolf.

Tucked just under his chin and nested close to his throat was the pup, curled into a little red furry ball with his legs all tucked underneath him and little nose buried into his Sire's black fur, his back rising and falling quietly with each breath.

It was an adorable sight, and one that Tobius plan to keep in memory with the digital camera that was sitting on top of the kitchen counter not fifteen feet away.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and watched as young Sam kicked back with one foot, driving his little paw into his _fatherbrother's_ collar bone, causing Dean to snort and twitch before settling once more.

Tobius' heart warmed just a little more.

He quietly made his way into the kitchen and back to his seat without waking his family and sat down again, turning the camera on and fiddling with the buttons until he could figure out how to turn the flash off.

One click and he saved it to the memory card.

Picking up his book again, Tobius found where he had left off and began reading again, keeping an ear on his family and enjoying the feel of a warm fire, a sip of wine at the back of his throat and his son and grandson lying peacefully only a few feet away.

He smiled, enjoying this much sought after peace.

Until a long, keening sound interrupted the tranquil silence.

The eldest werewolf pulled his book down an inch and glanced over the top of the worn pages and looked at the boys again. Sam hadn't moved a hair, but Dean's tail was softly brushing against the floor and his foot twitched.

Tobius shook his head fondly. "You really are a bit of a fartpants aren't you?" Chuckling quietly to himself and picking up his wine glass, the werewolf returned to his book. "Sleep well young pups."

* * *

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed! Puppy!Sam FTW! :D


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